Photographic apparatus



May 19,1970- K. A. F. HAYNES PHO'IOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Filed Sept. 15 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l KUTH ALBERT FRANK HAYAEQ May 19, 1970 K. A. F. HAYNES 3,

PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Filed Sept. 13, 19s? a Sheets-Sheet 2 KEITH ALBERT FRANK HAYNES United States Patent Ofice 3,512,468 Patented May 19, 1970 3,512,468 PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Keith Albert Frank Haynes, Garston, England, assignor to John Hadland Photographic Systems Limited, Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England, a British company Filed Sept. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 667,585 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Sept. 15, 1966, 41,232/ 66 Int. Cl. G03d 3/12, 3/08 U.S. C]. 9594 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A conveying device for conveying photographic film or paper through a tank containing processing liquid. The device has a large annular wheel member, rotatably mounted at its upper edge and several smaller drive applying rollers positioned around the wheel member. The rotary mounting for the wheel member is located in the upper part of the wheel member and above the level of processing liquid in the tank. Guide members are provided for engaging the edges of the film and are spaced from the periphery of the wheel member. The wheel member and rollers drive the film and thread it between the Wheel member and guides once the leading edge of the film is inserted in the device.

The invention relates to photographic apparatus.

The invention provides apparatus for use in processing photographic material such as photographic film or paper which apparatus comprises conveying means for conveying photographic material along a path through liquid in a processing tank and is adapted to be mounted on a processing tank so that the path enters the tank above liquid level, passes through the liquid and leaves the tank above liquid level, which conveying means comprises guide means spaced apart to define the path between them and at least two drive-applying members spaced apart along the path for applying drive to the material so that the material is caused to move by the two or more drive-applying members sequentially as the material is moved along the path past the said members, and threaded between the guide means along the path once the leading edge of the material is adjacent the first drive-applying member.

Preferably the drive-applying members comprise rotatable rollers and preferably the guide means include at least one rotatable roller. Preferably the conveying means comprises a frame, a first roller rotatably mounted on the frame, a plurality of smaller rollers rotatably mounted on the frame and spaced around at least part of, and spaced from, the periphery of the first roller to provide between the first and smaller rollers the said path extendin around part of the periphery of the first roller. Preferably means are provided to rotate the first roller and preferably the smaller rollers, so that the said first and smaller rollers drive the photographic material.

Preferably the guide means includes at least one guide member extending along the path. Preferably the said guide means includes the first roller spaced from the or each guide member.

Preferably the first roller comprises an annular ring.

Preferably the rotary mounting of the first roller is positioned near the upper periphery of the first roller so as to be above the liquid level in the tank.

Preferably the drive-applying members are spaced closer along the path than the length of film or paper to be processed whereby the leading edge of the film or paper may reach the second drive-applying member before the trailing edge of the film or paper has passed the first member.

Preferably more than two drive-applying members are provided so that the length of the path is several times longer than the length of film or paper to be processed.

The invention includes apparatus as aforesaid mounted on a processing tank. The invention also includes two tanks in series each having conveying means as aforesaid, and means between the tanks to feed the photographic material leaving the first tank into the conveying apparatus of the second tank.

A specific construction of photographic film or paper processing apparatus will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of the apparatus, and

FIG. 2 is a view on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

This example shows conveying apparatus for conveying photographic film through two adjacent processing tanks 11 and '12 in series having a common separating wall 13. Each tank 11 and 12 holds a processing liquid, such as for example film developer, although the liquid is normally different in the two tanks 11 and 12, up to the level marked 14 in tank 11. The two tanks 11 and 12 are similar and the conveying apparatus mounted on each tank 11 and 12 is generally similar and will be described in detail with reference to tank 11. A supporting frame (not shown in FIG. 1) extends across the tanks 11 and 12 above them and is mounted in position by resting on the upper edges of the walls 11a, 12a and 13. Rotatably mounted on the upper part of the frame are two rollers 15a, 15b. Depending from the upper part of the frame are two spaced annular frames 21 and 22 (not shown in FIG. 1) projecting down into the tank 11 and reaching near to the bottom of the tank. A transport ring 16 is rotatably mounted in the frame with the upper part of the ring 16 abutting against the rollers 15a, 15b and the lower part lying between the annular frames 21 and 22 as shown in FIG. 2. A drive Wheel 17 frictionally engages the upper part of the inner periphery of the ring 16 and is rotatably mounted on a pair of parallel pivot arms 18 which are pivotally fixed to the upper part of the frame and spring urged so as to urge the ring 16 upwardly into contact with the rollers 15a, 15b. A plurality of film driving rollers 19 are evenly spaced around the lower external periphery of the ring 16 between the annular frames 21, 22. Each roller 19 is mounted in a radial slot 23 in the annular frame and is retained in the slot and urged towards the ring 16 by two flexible driving bands 20 which frictionally engage the outer faces of grooved wheels 25, 26, connected at opposite ends respectively of the rollers 15a, 19, 15b and the lower faces of grooved wheels 25, 26 connected to opposite ends of the drive wheel 17. The rollers 19 may move in their mounting slots 23 and provide a space 24 between them and the ring 16 through which spaces 24 the film is conveyed on passing through the tank 11. Also mounted on the annular frame are two film guides 27, 28 (shown schematically in FIG. 1) in the form of thin plastic strips secured to the inner faces of the annular frames 21, 22 and passing continuously around the lower part of the ring 16 between the ends of the rollers 19 and the annular frames 21 and 22. The edges of the guides 27, 28 are spaced from the outer periphery of the ring 16, in a radial direction, by a distance slightly greater than the thickness of film to be processed so as to provide between the guides and the ring 16 the path along which film may be conveyed through the tank. The periphery of the ring 16 facing the guides 27, 28 forms a continuously moving guide Wall thereby reducing overall frictional resistance to movement of film through the tank. As is shown in FIG. 1, the guides 27, 28 are extended around the upper edge of the first roller 19a and spaced from a further pair of film guides 29 (only one guide 29 can be seen in FIG. 1)

to'form a film inlet guide 30 projecting above the wall 11a of the tank 11. Similarly the guides 27, 28 are extended at 31 around the upper periphery of the roller 15b to guide the film around the roller 15b as it leaves the tank 11. A rotatable rubber wheel 32 with a plurality of rubber teeth 35 (only some of which are shown) is mounted above the wall 13 and the teeth 35 engage the film leaving the roller 15b over tank 11 and convey it along between two pairs of spaced film guides 33 and 34, which like the other film guides engage only the marginal regions of the film, to the extended guides 31 around the roller 15a of tank 12, which forms the inlet to tank 12. The outlet from tank 12 is taken around the roller 15b of tank 12. The film guides 27, 28 of tank 12 are extended at 36 to guide the film around roller 15b to an outlet 40 between two pairs of spaced guides 38, 39 which determine the direction of the outlet.

Mounted on the upper frame and not shown is an electric motor arranged to drive the shaft of Wheel 32 and drive is taken from grooved wheels on this shaft via flexible driving bands 41 to the drive wheels 17 of the tanks 11 and 12.

Operation of this apparatus is as follows. When the electric motor is operated the shaft of wheel 32 rotates anticlockwise and thereby causes anticlockwise rotation of the wheels 17. By the frictional engagement of the wheel 17 with the ring 16, the ring 16 is rotated anticlockwise. The bands 20 cause clockwise rotation of the rollers 15a, 19 and 15b. The leading edge of a film, either a long length of film or a short length provided that it is slightly longer than the distance between adjacent rollers 19, is inserted into the inlet 30 to tank 11 above tank 11. The film is gripped between the roller 19a and ring 16 and moved forward. The film guides guide the marginal edges of the film and prevent the film curling away from the '5 ring 16. The film is progressively moved past each roller 19 along a path which passes from the inlet 30 above liquid level, down into the liquid, and back up again to roller 15b above liquid level. Each roller 19 forms with the ring 16 a roller pair which drives the film.

When the film leaves the roller 15b of tank 11 it is transferred to roller 15a of tank 12 and follows a path down between the rollers 19 and ring 16 into the liquid in tank 12 and back up out of the liquid and out the outlet 40. In this way the film is processed by the liquids in the tanks 11 and 12 sequentially.

In the above example, the rollers 19 are smooth Perspex rollers. Short or long lengths of film may be processed by use of the apparatus regardless of whether or not the marginal edge of the film is perforated. No

leader is required, or film wasted at the leading edge of the film in order to thread the film through the apparatus between the rollers and ring 16. Once the leading edge of the film is inserted in the inlet 30 and gripped between the roller 19a and ring 16, the film is moved and automatically threaded between the various driving and guiding members along the film path. No gripping or holding devices are used which obscure part of the film from processing liquid.

By rotatably mounting the ring 16 on the rollers 15a, 15b and 17, the mounting of the ring 17 is positioned above liquid level. The large central aperture through each ring 16 and annular frame 20, 21 allows free circulation of processing liquid from side to side in the tanks 11 and 12 and a liquid agitator may be used. The size of the ring 16 and speed of rotation is adjusted to provide an adequate processing time for the film passing through the liquid. The lower periphery of roller 19a in tank 11 is below liquid level so that as the roller 19a rotates it is evenly wetted with liquid and thereby avoids uneven initial processing as the film first contacts roller 19a. The conveying apparatus may be lifted off the tanks 11 and 12 and replaced when necessary.

The rollers 19 rotate with the same peripheral speed as the ring 16 and the separation of adjacent rollers 19 4 may be selected to suit the shortest length of film to be processed:

The rings 16 and frames may be made of Perspex.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing example. For instance, for handling film lengths of about 1 foot or more, the rollers 19 may be omitted and the length of film fed in around the roller 15a of tank 11 around the ring 16 guided by the fihn guides 27, 28 to the roller 15b. A different number of processing tanks may be used. A film drying stage may be included.

The two rollers 15b of tank 11 and 15a of tank 12 may be positioned closer together so that the film path length between them is slightly less than the length of short pieces of film passing through the apparatus. In this case, the leading edge of the film reaches the roller 15a of tank 12 before the trailing edge of the film leaves the roller 15b of tank 11 and a continuous positive drive is applied to the film by the flexible teeth of wheel 32 rotating and pressing the film against the rollers 15b and 15a.

For long lengths of film, the wheel 32 may be omitted.

The above example of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be used in the processing of photographic paper as well as film.

The two tanks 11 and 12 may be quite separate units instead of the twin unit shown in the drawings. Each separate tank may have its own separate drive input from a main drive unit mounted on the main framework.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for use in processing photographic material such as photographic film or paper, which apparatus comprises conveying means for conveying photographic material along a path through liquid in a processing tank and means enabling same to be mounted on a processing tank so that the path enters the tank above liquid level, passes through the liquid and leaves the tank above liquid level, which conveying means comprises a rotary Wheel member, a rotary mounting for the wheel member which mounting is located in the upper part of the wheel member above the level of liquid in the tank, a number of drive anplying roller members spaced around the periphery of the wheel member, said path being located between the periphery of the wheel member and said rollers and two spaced guide members extending around the marginal edges of at least part of the periphery of the wheel member so as to keep the marginal edges of said material close to the surface of the wheel member, whereby the material is caused to move by the drive-applying members sequentially as the material is moved along the path, and is automatically threaded between the wheel and roller members once the leading edge of the material is adjacent the first drive applying roller member.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotary wheel member is an annulus and said conveying means includes a frame enabling said rotary wheel member to be mounted on the said tank, and driving means for rotating the said rotary wheel member, and driving means for rotating the drive-applying roller members.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the said guide members comprise two flat part-circular members, the inside diameters of which correspond to the outside diameter of the rotary wheel member.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 including a length of photographic material such as photographic film or paper, to be processed, the drive applying rollers being spaced closer along the path than the length of film or paper to be processed, whereby the leading edge of the film or paper can reach a subsequent drive-applying roller before the trailing edge of the film or paper has passed the preceding drive-applying roller.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in combination with a photographic processing tank, and means for mounting same on said tank.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 mounted on each of at least two photographic tanks disposed in series, and

means between the tanks to feed the length of photographic material, leaving the first tank into the conveying means of the second tank.

7. Apparatus for use in processing photographic material such as photographic film or paper which apparatus comprises a frame, conveying means for conveying photographic material along a path through liquid in a processing tank so that the path enters the tank above liquid level, passes through the tank and leaves the tank above liquid level, which conveying means comprises an annular wheel member, a rotary mounting for the annular wheel member, which mounting is located under the upper rim of the annular Wheel member above the level of the liquid in the tank and is arranged to apply rotating drive to the annular wheel member, a number of drive applying roller members spaced around the periphery of the annular wheel member, a driving belt for rotating the drive-applying rollers, said driving belt coupling thg said rotating drive to the annular wheel member and the said drive-applying rollers, said path being located between the periphery of the said annular wheel member and the said drive applying members, and two spaced guide members extending around the marginal edges of at least part of the periphery of the annular wheel mem- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,940,584 6/1960 Kunz. 3,392,653 7/1968 Guinau 95-94 FOREIGN PATENTS 325,369 9/ 1920 Germany.

20 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner R. P. GREINER, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 95-89, 93 

